Wikipedia

Hamza

This article is about the punctuation mark. For other uses, seeHamza (disambiguation).For the name transcribed by the same spelling, seeHamza (name).
Not to be confused withع‎ (‘ayn), which has a similar looking initial form.

Thehamza(Arabic:هَمْزَةhamza) (ء‎) is anArabic scriptcharacter that, in theArabic Alpha bet,denotes aglottal stopand, in non-Arabic languages, indicates adiphthong,vowel,or other features, depending on the language. Derived from the letterʿAyn(ع‎),[1]the hamza is written in initial, medial and final positions as an unlinked letter or placed above or under a carrier character. Despite its common usage as a letter inModern Standard Arabic,it is generally not considered to be one ofits letters,although some argue that it should be considered a letter.

Hamza
همزة‎
ء
Usage
Writing systemArabic script
TypeAbjad
Language of originArabic language
Sound values/ʔ/
InUnicodeU+0621ARABIC LETTER HAMZA
History
Development
  • ء
Other
Writing directionRight-to-left
This article containsphonetic transcriptionsin theInternational Phonetic Alphabet(IPA).For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA.For the distinction between[ ],/ /and ⟨⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

The hamza is oftenromanizedas atypewriter apostrophe('), amodifier letter apostrophe(ʼ), amodifier letter right half ring(ʾ), or as theInternational Phonetic Alphabetsymbol ʔ. InArabizi,it is either written as "2" or not written at all.

In thePhoenician,HebrewandAramaicAlpha bets, from which the Arabic Alpha bet is descended, the glottal stop was expressed byalif(𐤀), continued byAlif(ا) in the Arabic Alpha bet. However, Alif was used to express both a glottal stop and a long vowel/aː/.In order to indicate that a glottal stop is used and not a mere vowel, it was added to Alifdiacritically.In modern orthography, hamza may also appear on the line, under certain circumstances as though it were a full letter, independent of an alif.

Etymology

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Hamzais derived from the verbhamaza(هَمَزَ) meaning 'to prick, goad, drive' or 'to provide (a letter or word) with hamzah'.[2]

Hamzat al-waṣl (ٱ)

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See also:Wasla,Arabic definite article,andsun and moon letters

The hamza (ء) on its own ishamzat al-qaṭ‘(هَمْزَة الْقَطْع,"thehamzahwhich breaks, ceases or halts ", i.e. the broken, cessation, halting" ), otherwise referred to asqaṭ‘at(قَطْعَة), that is, a phonemic glottal stop unlike thehamzat al-waṣl(هَمْزَة الوَصْل,"thehamzahwhich attaches, connects or joins ", i.e. the attachment, connection, joining" ), a non-phonemic glottal stop produced automatically only if at the beginning of an utterance, otherwise assimilated. Although thehamzat al-waṣlcan be written as analifcarrying awaṣlahsignٱ(only in theQuran), it is normally indicated by a plain alif without a hamza.[3]

ٱoccurs in:

  • the definite articleal-
  • some short words with two of their three-consonant roots apparent:ismاسْم,ibnابْن,imru'امْرُؤ(fem.imra'ahامْرَأَة),ithnāniاثْنَانِ(fem.ithnatāniاثْنَتَانِ)
  • the imperative verbs of forms I and VII to X
  • the perfective aspect of verb forms VII to X and their verbal nouns
  • some borrowed words that start with consonant clusters such asistūdiyū

It is not pronounced following a vowel (البَيْتُ الكَبِير,al-baytu l-kabīru). This event occurs in thedefinite articleor at the beginning of a noun following aprepositionor a verb following arelative pronoun.If the definite articleal-is followed by asun letter,-l-also gives way for the next letter forlāmis assimilated.

Orthography

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The hamza can be written either alone, as if it were aletter,or with a carrier, when it becomes adiacritic:

  • Alone: (only one isolated form):
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		ء‎ (none) (none) (none)
  • By itself:
  • High Hamza(used inKazakh;only one isolated form, but actually used in medial and final positions where it will be non joining), after any Arabic letter (if that letter has an initial or medial form, these forms will be changed to isolated or final forms respectively):
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		ٴ‎ (none) (none) (none)
  • Three-Quarter High Hamza(used inMalay;only one isolated form, but actually used in medial and final positions where it will be non joining):
Position in word: Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		ء (none) (none) (none)

This form has been proposed for the inclusion to the Unicode Standard,[4][5]but the Unicode Script Ad Hoc Group stated that it can be unified with the existingU+0674ٴARABIC LETTER HIGH HAMZA.[6]The form above currently being displayed using a standard Arabic Hamza with an altered vertical position.

  • Combined with a letter:
  • Above or below anAlif:
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		أ‎ ـأ‎ ـأ‎ أ‎
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		إ‎ ـإ‎ ـإ‎ إ‎
  • Above aWāw:
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		ؤ‎ ـؤ‎ ـؤ‎ ؤ‎
  • Above a dotlessYāʾ,also calledهمزة على نبرةHamza ʿAlā Nabrah.Joined medially and finally in Arabic, other languages written inArabic-based scriptmay have it initially as well (or it may take its isolated or initial shape, even in Arabic, after a non-joining letter in the same word):
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		ئ‎ ـئ‎ ـئـ‎ ئـ‎
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		هٔ‎ ـهٔ‎ ـهٔـ‎ هٔـ‎
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		ځ‎ ـځ‎ ـځـ‎ ځـ‎
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		ݬ‎ ـݬ‎ ـݬ‎ ݬ‎
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		ۓ‎ ـۓ‎ ـۓ‎ ۓ‎
Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help) 		ۂ‎ ـۂ‎ ـۂـ‎ ۂـ‎

Arabic "seat" rules

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The rules for writing hamza differ somewhat between languages even if the writing is based on theArabic abjad.The following addresses Arabic specifically.

Summary

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  • Initial hamzais always placed over (أ forʾa-orʾu-) or under (إ forʾi-) an alif.
  • Medial hamzawill have a seat or be written alone:
    • Surrounding vowels determine the seat of the hamza with preceding long vowels and diphthongs (such asaworay) being ignored.
    • i-(ئ) overu-(ؤ) overa-(أ) if there are two conflicting vowels that count; on the line (ء) if there are none.
    • As a special case,āʾa, ūʾaandawʾarequire hamza on the line, instead of over an alif as one would expect. (See III.1b below.)
  • Final hamzawill have a seat or be written alone:
    • Alone on the line when preceded by a long vowel or final consonant.
    • Has a seat matching the final short vowel for words ending in a short vowel.
  • Two adjacent alifs are never allowed.If the rules call for this, replace the combination by a singlealif maddah.

Detailed description

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  • Logically, hamza is just like any other letter, but it may be written in different ways. It has no effect on the way other letters are written. In particular, surrounding long vowels are written just as they always are, regardless of the "seat" of the hamza—even if this results in the appearance of two consecutive wāws or yāʾs.
  • The hamza can be written in five ways: on its own ( "on the line" ), under an alif, or over an alif, wāw, or yāʾ, called the "seat" of the hamza. When written over yāʾ, the dots that would normally be written underneath are omitted.
  • When according to the rules below, a hamza with an alif seat would occur before an alif which represents the vowelā,a single alif is instead written with the maddah symbol over it.
  • The rules for hamza depend on whether it occurs as the initial, middle, or final letter (not sound) in a word. (Thus, final short inflectional vowels do not count, but-anis written as alif +nunation,counts, and the hamza is considered medial.)

I. If the hamza is initial:

  • If the following letter is a short vowel,fatḥah(a) (as inأَفْرَاد‎ʾafrād) orḍammah(u) (as inأُصُول‎ʾuṣūl), the hamza is written over a place-holding alif;kasrah(i) (as inإِسْلَام‎ʾislām) the hamza is written under a place-holding alif and is called "hamza on a wall."
  • If the letter following the hamza is an alif itself: (as inآكُل‎ʾākul) alif maddah will occur.

II. If the hamza is final:

  • If a short vowel precedes, the hamza is written over the letter (alif, wāw,oryāʾ) corresponding to the short vowel.
  • Otherwise, the hamza is written on the line (as inشَيْء‎shayʾ"thing" ).

III. If the hamza is medial:

  • If a long vowel or diphthong precedes, the seat of the hamza is determined mostly by what follows:
  • Ifiorufollows, the hamza is written overyāʾorwāw,accordingly.
  • Otherwise, the hamza would be written on the line. If ayāʾprecedes, however, that would conflict with the stroke joining theyāʾto the following letter, so the hamza is written overyāʾ.(as inبطِيئَة‎)
  • Otherwise, both preceding and following vowels have an effect on the hamza.
  • If there is only one vowel (or two of the same kind), that vowel determines the seat (alif, wāw,oryāʾ).
  • If there are two conflicting vowels,itakes precedence overu,uoverasomiʾah'hundred' is writtenمِئَة‎,with hamza over theyāʾ.
  • Alif-maddahoccurs if appropriate.

Not surprisingly, the complexity of the rules causes some disagreement.

  • Barron's201 Arabic Verbsfollows the rules exactly (but the sequenceūʾūdoes not occur; see below).
  • John Mace'sTeach Yourself Arabic Verbs and Essential Grammarpresents alternative forms in almost all cases when hamza is followed by a longū.The motivation appears to be to avoid twowāws in a row. Generally, the choice is between the form following the rules here or an alternative form using hamza over yāʾ in all cases. Example forms aremasʾūl(مَسْئُول‎,[adj: responsible, in charge, accountable]; [noun: official, functionary]),yajīʾūna(يَجِيئُونَ‎,verb:jāʾaجَاءَ‎"to come" ),yashāʾūna(يَشَائُونَ، يَشَاءُونَ‎,verb:shāʾaشَاءَ‎"to will, to want, to intend, to wish" ). Exceptions:
  • In the sequenceūʾū(yasūʾūna,verb:sā'aسَاءَ‎"to act badly, be bad" ) the alternatives are hamza on the lineيَسُوءُونَ‎,or hamza overyāʾيَسُوئُونَ‎,when the rules here would call for hamza overwāw.Perhaps, the resulting sequence of three wāws would be especially repugnant.
  • In the sequenceyaqraʾūna(يَقْرَأُونَ‎,verb:qaraʾaقَرَأَ‎"to read, to recite, to review/ study" ) the alternative form has hamza over alif, notyāʾ.
  • The formsyabṭuʾūna(يَبْطُؤُونَ‎,verb:baṭuʾaبَطُؤَ‎"to be or become slow, late or backward," to come late "," to move slowly ") andyaʾūbu(يَؤُوبُ‎,verb:آبَ‎"move to the back", "to return to come back", "to repent" ) have no alternative form. (Noteyaqraʾūnawith the same sequence of vowels.)
  • Haywood and Nahmad'sA new Arabic Grammar of the Written Languagedoes not write the paradigms out in full, but in general agrees with John Mace's book, including the alternative forms and sometimes lists a third alternative with the entire sequenceʾūwritten as a single hamza overwāwinstead of as two letters.
  • Al-Kitāb fī Taʿallum...presents paradigms with hamza written the same way throughout, regardless of the rules above. Thusyabdaʾūnawith hamza only over alif,yajīʾūnawith hamza only overyāʾ,yaqraʾīnawith hamza only over alif, but that is not allowed in any of the previous three books. (It appears to be an overgeneralization on the part of theal-Kitābwriters.)

Overview tables

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The letterط‎ (ṭ) stands here for any consonant.

Note:The table shows only potential combinations and their graphic representations according to the spelling rules; not every possible combination exists in Arabic.
Intervocalic
first second
ʾiṭ ʾuṭ ʾaṭ ʾīṭ ʾūṭ ʾāṭ
ṭiʾ ṭiʾiṭ ṭiʾuṭ ṭiʾaṭ ṭiʾīṭ ṭiʾūṭ ṭiʾāṭ
طِئِط‎ طِئُط‎ طِئَط‎ طِئِيط‎ طِئُوط‎ طِئَاط‎
ṭuʾ ṭuʾiṭ ṭuʾuṭ ṭuʾaṭ ṭuʾīṭ ṭuʾūṭ[a] ṭuʾāṭ
طُئِط‎ طُؤُط‎ طُؤَط‎ طُئِيط‎ طُؤُوط‎ طُؤَاط‎
ṭaʾ ṭaʾiṭ ṭaʾuṭ ṭaʾaṭ ṭaʾīṭ ṭaʾūṭ[a] ṭaʾāṭ
طَئِط‎ طَؤُط‎ طَأَط‎ طَئِيط‎ طَؤُوط‎ طَآط‎
ṭīʾ ṭīʾiṭ ṭīʾuṭ ṭīʾaṭ ṭīʾīṭ ṭīʾūṭ ṭīʾāṭ
طِيئِط‎ طِيئُط‎ طِيئَط‎ طِيئِيط‎ طِيئُوط‎ طِيئَاط‎
ṭayʾ ṭayʾiṭ ṭayʾuṭ ṭayʾaṭ ṭayʾīṭ ṭayʾūṭ ṭayʾāṭ
طَيْئِط‎ طَيْئُط‎ طَيْئَط‎ طَيْئِيط‎ طَيْئُوط‎ طَيْئَاط‎
ṭūʾ ṭūʾiṭ ṭūʾuṭ ṭūʾaṭ ṭūʾīṭ ṭūʾūṭ ṭūʾāṭ
طُوءِط‎ طُوءُط‎ طُوءَط‎ طُوءِيط‎ طُوءُوط‎ طُوءَاط‎
ṭawʾ ṭawʾiṭ ṭawʾuṭ ṭawʾaṭ ṭawʾīṭ ṭawʾūṭ ṭawʾāṭ
طَوْءِط‎ طَوْءُط‎ طَوْءَط‎ طَوْءِيط‎ طَوْءُوط‎ طَوْءَاط‎
طَوْئِط‎ طَوْؤُط‎ طَوْأَط‎ طَوْئِيط‎ طَوْآط‎
ṭāʾ ṭāʾiṭ ṭāʾuṭ ṭāʾaṭ ṭāʾīṭ ṭāʾūṭ ṭāʾāṭ
طَائِط‎ طَاؤُط‎ طَاءَط‎ طَائِيط‎ طَاءُوط‎ طَاءَاط‎
Other cases
condition vowel
i u a ī ū ā
#_VC ʾiṭ ʾuṭ ʾaṭ ʾīṭ ʾūṭ ʾāṭ
إِط‎ أُط‎ أَط‎ إِيط‎ أُوط‎ آط‎
C_VC ṭʾiṭ ṭʾuṭ ṭʾaṭ ṭʾīṭ ṭʾūṭ ṭʾāṭ
طْئِط‎ طْؤُط‎ طْأَط‎ طْئِيط‎ طْءُوط‎ طْآط‎
CV_C ṭiʾṭ ṭuʾṭ ṭaʾṭ ṭīʾṭ ṭūʾṭ ṭāʾṭ
طِئْط‎ طُؤْط‎ طَأْط‎ طِيئْط‎ طُوءْط‎ طَاءْط‎
CV_# ṭiʾ ṭuʾ ṭaʾ ṭīʾ ṭūʾ ṭāʾ
طِئ‎ طُؤ‎ طَأ‎ طِيء‎ طُوء‎ طَاء‎
طِء‎ طُء‎ طَء‎

Colours:

The hamza is written overyāʾئ‎
The hamza is written overwāwؤ‎
The hamza is written over or underalifأ‎,آ‎,إ‎
The hamza is written on the lineء‎

Notes:

  1. ^abArabic writing has tried to avoid two consecutivewāws, however, in Modern Arabic this rule is less applicable, thus modernرُؤُوس‎ruʾūs"heads" corresponds toرُءُوس‎in the Quran.

Hamza in other Arabic-script Alpha bets

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Jawi Alpha bet

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In theJawi Alpha bet(Arabic script used to writeMalay), hamza is used for various purposes, but is rarely used to denote a glottal stop except in certain Arabic loanwords. The default isolated hamza form (Malay:hamzah setara) is the second least common form of hamza,[5]whereas another form unique to the Jawi script, the three-quarter high hamza (Malay:hamzah tiga suku) is most commonly used in daily Jawi writing. The three-quarter high hamza itself is used in many cases:[7]

  • Separating vowel letters of a diphthongs such asai,au,andoiwhen present in certain positions within words
  • Preceding certain suffixes such as⟨ن‎⟩(-an) and⟨ي‎⟩(-i)
  • To write non-Malay single-syllable words (most commonly names) that starts with a vowel other thanalif⟨ا⟩
  • Glottal stops for archaic words (specifically titles and names which have a fixed spelling)
  • In some instances Arabic loanwords which change their original spelling may change the hamza to the three-quarter high hamza instead

This exact form is not available inUnicode Standard,as it is unified with ARABIC LETTER HIGH HAMZA, but the common way of writing this form is by using a normal hamza and altering its vertical position.

Hamza above alif⟨أ‎⟩is used for prefixed words using the prefixes⟨ک‎⟩,⟨د‎⟩,or⟨س‎⟩,where its root word starts with a vowel (such asد+امبيل‎(di+ambil), becomesدأمبيل‎(diambil)). This form as well as hamza below alif⟨إ‎⟩are both also in Arabic loanwords where the original spelling has been retained.

The hamza above ya⟨ئ‎⟩is known as a "housed hamzah" (Malay:hamzah berumah), and is most commonly used in Arabic loanwords. It is also used for words which repeat or combine "i"and"é"vowels likeچميئيه‎(cemeehmeaning "taunt" ) and for denoting a glottal stop in the middle of a word after a consonant such asسوبئيديتور‎(subeditor). More commonly, however, it is used for denoting a schwa after the vowels "i","é","o",and"u"such asچندليئر‎(chandelier).

Hamza above waw⟨ؤ‎⟩is completely removed from the Jawi Alpha bet, and for Arabic loanwords using the letter, it is replaced with a normal waw followed by a three-quarter high hamza instead.[8]

Urdu (Shahmukhi) Alpha bet

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In theUrduAlpha bet, hamza does not occur at the initial position over alif since alif is not used as a glottal stop in Urdu. In the middle position, if hamza is surrounded by vowels, it indicates adiphthongor syllable break between the two vowels. In the middle position, if hamza is surrounded by only one vowel, it takes the sound of that vowel. In the final position hamza is silent or produces a glottal sound, as in Arabic.

In Urdu, hamza usually represents a diphthong between two vowels. It rarely acts like the Arabic hamza except in a few loanwords from Arabic.

Hamza is also added at the last letter of the first word ofezāfecompound to represent -e- if the first word ends withyehor withheor overbari yehif it is added at the end of the first word of the ezāfe compound.

Hamza is always written on the line in the middle position unless inwawif that letter is preceded by a non-joiner letter; then, it is seated above waw. Hamza is also seated when written above baṛi yeh. In the final form, Hamza is written in its full form. In ezāfe, hamza is seated above choṭi he, yeh or baṛi yeh of the first word to represent the -e- of ezāfe compound.

Uyghur Alpha bet

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In theUyghur Arabic Alpha bet,the hamza is not a distinct letter and is not generally used to denote the glottal stop, but rather to indicate vowels. The hamza is only depicted with vowels in their initial or isolated forms, and only then when the vowel starts a word. It is also occasionally used when a word has two vowels in a row.[9]

Kazakh Alpha bet

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In theKazakh Arabic Alpha bet,the hamza is used only at the beginning of words, and the only form is high hamza. It is not used to denote any sound, but to indicate that the vowels in the word will be the four front vowels:⟨ٵ‎⟩(ä),⟨ٸ‎⟩(ı),⟨ٶ‎⟩(ö),⟨ٷ‎⟩(ü). However, it is not used for words containing another front vowel⟨ە‎⟩(e) or words containing four consonants⟨گ‎⟩(g),⟨غ‎⟩(ğ),⟨ك‎⟩(k),⟨ق‎⟩(q).[10]

Wavy hamza in Kashmiri

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ٲ
اٟ

TheKashmiri languagewritten in Arabic script includes the diacritic or "wavy hamza". In Kashmiri the diacritic is calledāmālü madwhen used above alif: ٲ to create the vowel/əː/.[11]Kashmiri calls the wavy hamzasāȳwhen below the alif: اٟ to create the sound/ɨː/.[12]

Latin representations

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There are different ways to represent hamza in Latin transliteration:

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Hamza in Arabic – every thing you need to know".2024-03-29.Retrieved2024-04-22.
  2. ^Wehr, Hans (1994). "همزhamaza".In Cowan, J. M. (ed.).The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Arabic(4th ed.). Otto Harrassowitz KG.ISBN978-0-87950-003-0.
  3. ^Wright, W.; Robertson Smith, W.; de Goeje, M. J. (1996).A grammar of the Arabic language.Cambridge University Press.OCLC484549376.
  4. ^Shariya Haniz Zulkifli (2009-07-09)."Submit Jawi character to IANA - final"(PDF).Malaysia Network Information Center.
  5. ^abAhmad Ali A. Karim; (Tun) Suzana (Tun) Othman; Dr. Hasanuddin Yusof (2022-01-11)."Proposal to Encode ARABIC LETTER THREE QUARTER HIGH HAMZA for Jawi"(PDF).Unicode Technical Committee.
  6. ^Anderson, Deborah; Whistler, Ken; Pournader, Roozbeh; Constable, Peter (2022-04-15), "4c High Hamza",Recommendations to UTC #171 April 2022 on Script Proposals(PDF)
  7. ^Dahaman, Ismail bin; Ahmad, Manshoor bin Haji (2001).Daftar Kata Bahasa Melayu: Rumi-Sebutan-Jawi (Jilid 1)[Malay Language Word Directory: Rumi-Pronunciation-Jawi (Book 1)] (in Malay).Kuala Lumpur(Malaysia):Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.p. 129.ISBN9789836246721.
  8. ^Haris bin Kasim, Haji (2019).بوکو تيکس جاءيس جاوي تاهون 4[Year 4 Jawi JAIS Text Book] (in Malay). Seri Kembangan (Malaysia): Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor.ISBN9789671650004.
  9. ^Nazarova, Gulnisa; Niyaz, Kurban (December 2013).Uyghur: An Elementary Textbook(Bilingual ed.). Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press. pp. 5–8.ISBN9781589016842.
  10. ^Nayman, S (1985),Kazakh-Chinese Concise Dictionary ( ha hán từ điển. قازاقشا - حانزۋشا سوزدىك)(in Chinese and Kazakh), Ūlttar Baspasy (ۇلتتار باسپاسى),ISBN9787105053520
  11. ^"Vowel 04: ٲ / ä – (aae)".Kashmiri Dictionary.31 January 2021.Retrieved11 July2024.
  12. ^"Vowel07: اٟ / ü ( ι )".Kashmiri Dictionary.6 February 2021.Retrieved11 July2024.
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